| General
History
The
B-24 was originally designed in 1939 as a replacement
for the B-17 Flying Fortress. It had a lot of “firsts”
to its name including first mass-produced airplane, first
production bomber with a nose-wheel and the most produced
US aircraft to date. Taking advantage of later technology,
the B-24 could fly faster and further than the B-17 and
could carry twice the bomb load of a B-17 for 3,700 miles.
They were used in a variety of roles including bombing,
mine laying, photo-reconnaissance, cargo and transport
duties. The B-24 carried a crew of 10 and had ten .50
caliber machine guns for defense. Later in the War, the
Navy used a single-tail version called the PB4Y-2.
To
learn about the personal history of our very own Consolidated
B-24J "liberator" as well as comments from Kermit
Weeks, please visit our beautiful art deco facility and
old-fashioned hangars.
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